Out of curiousity, what elite centre have the Habs missed out on since the acquisition of Scott Gomez?

I was probably one of the most vocal critics of the Gomez trade when it happened, to the point that some people on here justifiably called me out for my negativity. My fear was that his high cap hit would impede the Habs from bidding on players that would actually help the team. And I hated giving up McDonagh, a physical defensive defenceman that can skate, instead of Weber or even Subban; I felt, as I still do, that Sather was desperate enough to get out of Gomez’s contract so he could make the Gaborik splash to help save his job that either one would have consummated the trade, and the Habs had more depth when it came to offensive D prospects at the time (Subban, Carle, Weber and the recently drafted Bennett).

But since Gomez was acquired, the Habs successfully lured two of the most attractive wingers on the UFA market (Cammalleri and Cole), a useful veteran winger that can score 25-35 goals per season (Gionta), a couple of useful veteran defencemen (Gill and Spacek) and a very attractive checking line winger (Moen).

The only player that the Habs lost due to cap ramnifications that they probably would have liked to hold on to was Wisniewski, and that was partially because the team put its faith in Andrei Markov, a move that hasn’t paid off yet but it remains far too early to say the team made the wrong call.

Essentially, the Gomez acquisition has not hurt the team. So I have a hard time continually using his contract against him.

Would I like to see Gomez score more? Of course. Do I think he has been a top-6 player? Debatable…he has his positives, but his shot has deteriorated to the point that he is no longer a threat to score. Is he a useful player? That is the tough one…the coach seems to think so, and the coach has wrung a trip to the conference finals out of the team and stretched the eventual Stanley Cup champions to 7-games, providing the Bruins with hands down the toughest test they faced in winning the Cup last season.

Gomez should be judged on his merits as a player…there is still plenty to criticize, but it is at least a fair criticism. Pointing to Scott Gomez’s contract is not a particularly compelling argument for me as it quite simply has not yet hurt the team or handcuffed Pierre Gauthier from signing the players the team wanted to sign. Looking forward to next season, I would be a little surprised if that changes…it will be tough, but the team should be able to safely keep all the key players (Gorges, Subban, Price, Kostitsyn, etc.) that it needs to re-sign or replace.

” Pointing to Scott Gomez’s contract is not a particularly compelling argument for me as it quite simply has not yet hurt the team or handcuffed Pierre Gauthier from signing the players the team wanted to sign”

chris, the 7+ million could have been used to sign or trade for a true #1 center, which this team desperately still needs.

its not about the defenceman or the wingers that we DID sign.

its about the #1 center that we did NOT sign or TRADE for

“what elite center did we miss out on?” we will never know. trades are not even considered when you lock yourself in to the deal the Habs gave Gomez.

Habs hockey is “smart” hockey – we play 5 man defence, not just 2 – we move up the ice as a 5 man unit, we back check with 5.

Ed: I don’t think I agree with you, because we generally DO have a pretty good idea of what #1 centres are available…the only guys of that calibre are either problematic in the locker room, engaged in difficult contract negotiations or impending unrestricted free agents. And I don’t for a second believe that the team would hesitate to bury him in the AHL if the Habs had a chance at one and Gomez’s contract was the impediment.

Datsyuk, Sedin, Zetterberg, Toews, Getzlaf, Kesler…those guys are almost never available because their teams know how hard it is to find a replacement. Richards and Carter got traded last summer (both out of conference) because of locker room issues, while I still maintain that the Penguins might dangle Malkin once Crosby can prove that he is back to 100%. Jordan Staal is too good now to be a 3rd line center, and Malkin might be more valuable as trade bait than as a converted winger.

…You would have included PK Subban instead of McDonaugh ? …really ??? …Ya gotta be kiddin’
…Gionta is more than a ‘useful’ Player
…Wiesniewski would NEVER have been signed by Our Habs at 6 million, whether there was a Markov or not Chris

Yep, I would have included Subban. You have to go back to 2009 and recall where all those guys were at the time and not look back with the benefit of hindsight.

Weber and Subban had very similar junior careers. Subban was more exciting, Weber was more mature. But I think that Weber and McDonagh would be a better combination than Subban and Weber. Of course, we all agree now that McDonagh and Subban might be the best option, but that again comes solely from the benefit of hindsight.

As for Gionta, don’t mistake me for trying to knock him down. I’ll give myself a pat on the back here and point out that on the morning of July 1, 2009, I was one of (if not the only one) the people who had Brian Gionta as a good fit for Montreal, hours before he signed. 🙂

…Scott Gomez …love Him or hate Him, Scott was the beginning of a long-overdue culture change for Our Montreal Canadiens
…I have had this in-bred antipathy and regret We have had to sign American and European players to reincarnate Our culture of overall Team-speed, skill, class and character similar to the great Habs’ Teams in Our memories
…but, I must say when these ‘fererners’ put-on da Bleu, Blanc et Rouge they remind Myself of Our golden-years Teams (on Their ‘good-dayz, like vs the Rangers the other night 🙂 )

RANT WARNING (journalists/reporting mostly):
I’m his biggest critic, but if Gomez plays like he did against the Rangers most games, I’ll be a fan. period.

Which is why I’m so sick and tired of this BS about Gomez’s big contract magnifying everything. Forget the contract, he’s supposed to be a top 6 winger. Period. Darche, playing a bottom 6 role, would be risk demotion for not scoring in 50 games. This idea that the Gomez’s suckitude is exaggerated unfairly is itself unfair to the truth. Stop “reporting” it. Gomez not scoring is not some ‘accident’. He needs to play better, he needs to play WITH his team, they way they are playing, he needs to care every night – same as any other top 6 forward in the league.

And while I’m on a mini-rant, I just can’t read Red Fisher anymore. Great respect for his wisdom, and there are still gems to be had there, but I can’t read anymore “picture a fella” or “image a guy” with more talk about how other teams let the Habs win than about what the Habs did themselves.

If I’m Gomer, I’m loving it. Nowhere to go but up. No pressure really, I’m getting healthier, my mates are trying to set me up, I’m mentally ready for whatever may come, including Hammytown. I’ll bounce back big or epic fail big. Either way, I don’t have the time to worry about what you think, cuz I’m set for life and there are far more interesting things to pursue with my time and money… thank you Slats!

If he only suspected we were fickle, he knows it now after being booed and cheered in the same game. Playing in the MSG oven for the Rangers prepared him for the fire of the Bell center.

The Bruins know this will be their big test. We don’t buy into the smashmouth game. We play intellectual hockey, and we will rise to the occasion because we are motivated. Unlike playing against the Islanders.
Worry not about the youthcorps on the backend, they will enjoy tremendous support from the front end. Our speed and intelligence will expose the Bruins weakness. We now have size up front as well so we can crash Timmy if they wanna play that game.

Unfortunately, the zebras can still play too big of a role if they let the Bruins run ragged. If they call it fair, and if we can keep pace in the faceoff circle, I like our chances very much.

To all the summiteers, if you are on Facebook, please go to the Summit Page if you havne’t already, and post any pics and stories you may have. I’ve put a link to the page below (just copy and paste it in the browser), but you can also just search We Are Fans Summit in the search bar at the top of the facebook page. I know the people who do not attend the summit can get tired of hearing about something they do not feel a part of, so that would be a great place to share your experiences with fellow summiteers.

That being said, I encourage all of you to do whatever it takes to attend any and all future summits. You will not regret taking the time, or spending the money required to attend. I promise you….it’s a weekend you will not forget.

And a special thank you to Mr. Boone and Mr. Hickey, who took the time to join us, talk to us, and make the weekend all the more memorable. I hope you’re aware the impact that your presence has on those of us who so appreciate all the work that you do. Hope to see you all next year!

I think Gomez has been playing hurt a lot all this year (ankle even before pre-season started and then pectoral muscle tear very early in the season) and hopefully he gets back to 100% soon. He is showing some signs of waking up. I hope he can get back to being productive, but I think everybody needs to cut the guy a bit of slack for another 20 games. This team is a lot better with a productive Gomez on it. If at the all-star break he is still sucking, then we will need to explore our options.

Pleks is playing hurt, and it seems to have barely slowed him down.
And 20 games?? We’ll be at half point of the season then.
I’d prefer to have Gomez contribute to the team, but this special treatment he is getting has to end.

Shout out to Ian Cobb for organizing the summit, great job once again. this was my second time. i did not spend as much time as would have liked with some of the summitters as my 2 sons wanted to explore more of Montreal.
we did catch the bell tours , dinner at baton rouge and some drinks at hurleys after the game.
what a great game and the crowd at the bell is beyond…living in leaf land you forget what a real game is.

http://ca.sports.yahoo.com/nhl/news?slug=capress-hkn_jets_dnd_logo-14823525
…first thing that popped in this ol’ quizzical head when the Winnipeg Jets’ logo was introduced, was WHAT ??? would happen if the Jets had a Bertuzzi or McSorley-moment during a game in Washington DC ?
…and I still think it is a ticking PR bomb for the Canadian military especially, no matter where the inevitable ‘hockey play’ occurs

Hickey mentions in his column that reporters were asking Gomez about a demotion to Hamilton. Stubbs’ column does not touch on any mention of a demotion. What gives? Was that off limits for the interview?

I have nothing against Gomez it would be great if he was scoring 20 goals a year which is a minimum I would think for $7.5mm player. However the world is cheering Gomez’s return because he registered two assists. Why is the bar so low for Gomez? All I see is a guy taking minutes away from more deserving players (Eller).

Concerning his two assists – the old adage applies “Even a blind squirrel finds an acorn every once in awhile”.

So Gomez makes $7.5m a year…..I’m sure he is the 1st to admit that he is very fortunate to have that contract from Sather prior to the Cap era. He knows he’s on the downside of his career but that doesn’t mean he can’t contribute. If you’re fixated on salary take a look at other players with “big” salaries don’t dominate or haven’t won anything for their current teams. DiPietro? Lecavalier (way past prime) ? Luongo? Heatley? Spezza? Thornton? Iginla? Just a few….there are a host of other players who either have underperformed or are also on the downside of their careers. A GM just can’t move his least productive salary like it was EA Sports or something (never played). There is a bigger picture than your narrow point of view. Gomez will play the year and then decisions will be made. Don’t expect PG to ask for your or any other fans opinion.

Joe C,
I got to tell ya! Gomez was second star Sat. night. You have to be there to fully appreciate what he really does for our team away from the puck as well.
And Jacques Martin is a fantastic coach and communicator. We had a conversation over a pint, along with JD, Punkster, Matty, Gerald, Chuck and a few more summiteers in where I expressed my disappointment in the clubs poor start. He brought out his chalk board and showed us his up coming game plan as to how he was going to counter the Boston squad in the up coming game at the Bell Center. And then Andree called and woke me up!

I think in both case it won’t sway popular opinion.
Th JM piece touted a 90 minutes interview, but the piece only had a few quotes from JM.
And while Gomez might be trying, the only thing that can help his cause is scoring.

I think even if Gomez is trying he has lost that edge he once had. This is either due to a prolonged period of not trying or caring, or the effects of an injury or simply getting older and not being in top physical shape – or even a combination of all of the above. One thing is for sure. You either have heart or you don’t and you can’t turn it on and off like a switch. Trying hard now won’t cut it if the ability to execute is already compromised.

Ill put skates on and try my hardest every single shift if I can get 700,000 and be as affective and save the team almost 7 million in cap space, so does that count. Trying at his cap means NOTHING till he produces

If this is the attitude of a healthy and hungry Gomez, all I can say is show me. I’d love for Gomez to silence (yeah, right) the critics here. I’m sure that, as Habs fans, we’d all like to see him succeed.

Great fun to listen to all you HIO Summit folks talk about your weekend. Sounds like a helluva a time. Kudos to Ian for organizing something that is so meaningful.

Maybe one of these days I’ll join. With over 135,000 air miles this year, a trip to Montreal these dayes feels less like a wonderful holiday and more like another two flights and a hotel… maybe when I retire.

I do know how special a Habs game is – every year, including this one – my sons and I take in the February double header. It’s one of our favorite things.

Mikey – I look at it this way – what are the NYI gonna want in return for Okposo – he would be as good as Palushaj right now
but I wouldn’t get rid of Gomez for him – Gomez may not be putting up many points but he’s good in other areas – Okposo maybe a good R/W for the 3rd or 4th line if he could get it together – he’s a 15 goal score at best so figure it out what are you willing to give up – maybe Palushaj one for one….

What a great weekend. The HI/O Summit was fantastic, and big thanks to Ian for organizing the whole thing, Sholi for playing a great supporting role, and for Bipro for passing his tix on to me. It was all much appreciated.

I’m really happy to have met some of you for the first time, and some of you for the second time! It was great having a laugh with you, chewing the fat, celebrating the victory and generally joking around.

Mélissa has told me that now that she knows a few of you, she won’t be so bothered when I’m typing away on here instead of, doing something productive! She had a great time, as did Violet. She hasn’t stopped talking about the Hall of Fame. Apparently her favourite part was “dadadadad-taaaamamamamaaa”. It was my favourite part too.

Great to meet HabinBurlington, Fun Police, Rob, J_D, and a few others for the first time, and Showey, Sholi, Ian, GrimJim, Jason M, and a few others for the second time round.

Once again, a great time, and my only regrets are missing the Bell Centre tour and the dinner, and the fact that 2 Bell Centre rot-dogs did little to soak up the approximately 27 pints I drank.

More to come on my New Favourite Player, and My Altercation With A Metro Turnstile.

Shane Oliver with the name tags, Fred and son Doug Sherrington for help with the raffle. And all that were present and donated such a wonderful lineup of gifts that everyone received to take home. Best Summit in the past 5 years.

Also thanks to Mike Boone who was able to roll out of bed early Saturday morning to have breakfast with some of us.

And thanks to Pat Hickey who rubbed shoulders with all of us at Hurley’s celebrating our win over the Rangers.

Best of luck to Sidney Crosby, one of the best players of his generation. Successfully returning from a concussion layoff as long as Crosby’s is difficult, as Patrice Bergeron can surely attest. The good news is that Bergeron is back to his level of old, and I have to believe that Crosby has been extremely careful with his own health, not rushing back until HE is sure he is ready.

——————————

I thought some more this weekend about “loser points”, a common lament amongst hockey fans and a source of contention for people when it comes to determining how a team’s “.500” status should be calculated. Under the current rules, here are the Eastern Conference standings as of this morning on top, with two modified point systems underneath. In the first system, I used a popular alternative system where each team earns 3 points for a regulation win, 2 points for an OT/SO win, 1 point for an OT/SO loss and 0 points for a regulation loss, while in the second, nothing changes except for OT-losses are given 0 points:

The big complaint with the status quo is the “loser point”, which many people point to as corrupting the standings. More subtly, this system has actually encouraged teams to play for regulation ties…a study from the University of Guelph that a couple of agriculture economics professors did on the side found that since the introduction of a guaranteed point for both teams in regulation to encourage teams to go for a win in OT, significantly more games have ended up in OT (about a 5% increase, or 62 games per year across the league).

This is probably the most fair system. Teams that win in regulation are rewarded most highly, and every game is worth 3 points, as opposed to the current system where only the games that go to OT/SO dole out 3 total points. This would allow one to create a “real” definition of .500, where it is teams that garner 50.0% of the points available. I’ve included the “point percentage” in brackets. In this system, the teams that lose the most are teams like New Jersey and Washington who rely heavily on OT/SO wins for their win total.

I also prefer this system in that it rewards teams who do not allow their opponent to obtain points, something the current system does not do.

Nonetheless, the overall standings are changed very little through ~20 games if you go strictly by points. Nobody falls out of the playoffs, and very little upheaval results. Over 82 games, the small movements that we see might become more critical, but one could argue that the current system isn’t doing anybody any gross injustice.

Of perhaps greater interest, such a system might be a better judge of who the best teams are if you rank the teams by the percentage of points they have garnered. Of course, doing this would assume that the team continues to play at the same clip, but it does negate this business of “games in hand” that we currently use, a notion is silly because people rarely factor in that the team with fewer games played is unlikely to win all those games. Regardless, it is interesting to see that the team that would move to the top of the class is the Rangers, who are somewhat lower in the standings right now largely due to the fact that they have played fewer games than everybody else. What I appreciate the most is that this would remove any ambiguity about what exactly a “.500” team is. For example, many people would say that New Jersey (10-7-1) are above .500, but this igores the fact that they have given up 5 “loser points” to their opponents, minimizing the gains they might have made in the standings.

In this system, a lot changes. It is obviously much simpler to follow, and since every game MUST decide a winner with the advent of the shootout, it is a tempting alternative.

However, this system is fraught with peril. Teams with excellent goaltenders would be encouraged to fall back even more into a trapping style to get to a shootout where they would have a chance to take all the points. This defeats the whole point of a team sport like hockey…it turns a game into a series of six 1-on-1 duels between snipers and goalies to decide everything.

In a quirky coincidence, the three teams that do the worst in this type of scoring system are Toronto, Montreal and Ottawa.

I am a big fan of the 3rd option. No points for losing.
However, I am a big fan of getting rid of the cockamamie Shoot Out, too.
I do not care for the 3 points/game system as it artificially inflates how well a team is doing while also bolstering the bottom feeders so they don’t look so bad.

I don’t think the shootout is going anywhere…it is simply far too popular with the fans, particularly in the U.S. where the league wants to boost its revenues. And to be honest, I would hazard the guess that even most Canadian fans like the shootout, as it harkens back to when we were all kids playing pond or road hockey. We ALL loved to go 1-on-1, and I think many like to see the best players in the world do it too. It is certainly wildly popular with the kids.

As for the point inflation, I’m not sure I agree with that. As you progress towards the end of the season and those gaps have a chance to grow, things would change. For example, an excellent team might garner 60% of the points, while a mediocre team would garner 50% of the points. After 82 games, that difference would amount to a 24 point difference, roughly what we see today. A truly terrible team, such as the Islanders this season, typically garners around 33% of the points, which would leave them with a 65 points deficit by the end of the season, which would again be not too far off what we see presently.

Most importantly, the way teams play would change. Right now, I’m transferring the standings over as they are today to a new point system. However if coaches knew that they had a chance to gain 3 points on a rival with a regulation win, versus only 1 with an OT/SO win as things stand, I think you would see teams try a lot harder, particularly in the third period, to break a tie or pad a lead. The system as it stands now encourages teams to be conservative, but we then complain about how conservative hockey has become.

I believe you’re quite right about the Shoot Out not going anywhere. I, for 1, do not watch it as it takes away from the team game I like to watch. That is despite being a fan of Showdown in the early 70s. I never thought the NHL would resort to a gimmick to choose a winner.
In lieu of no points for losers, the 3 point system would indeed be an improvement.

Maybe my expectation is unrealistic but for $7M Gomez is not and has not beeing producing. Looking at his numbers over the last couple years I think he’s overpaid by a huge margin and must be held accountable. And if he wants a chance, then maybe we should be able to renegotiate his contract and take a portion of the money away 🙂
If it were up to me, I’d still look at trading him…maybe for a dozen pucks.

On a separate note, I have never understood who came up with the logic behind the point system in the NHL. Games, when ending after 3 regular periods carry a total of 2 points, but in OT and SO games there are 3 points available. What kind of logical sense does that make?
My suggestion is to have 3 points (total) available. 3 for a normal win, 2 for OT/SO winners and 1 for the OT/SO losers. Needless to say there will be incentive for teams to win in regulation….and it also makes mathematical sense.
Just a thought.

Mediocre teams work at their best; teams seeking excellence strive to do better.

While I agree that it should be okay to renegotiate contracts downward as well as upward or reverse arbitration should be allowed, the NHLPA does not allow it. It would be better for the player as well as the team but there you have it.

I think it is perspective, I will kind of repeat my earlier thought. Gomez said after last season he sucked. He told us he worked out hard this summer, brought up our strength and conditioning coach to ensure he worked on the right things.

Early on in training camp he severely sprains his ankle. Probably just as it is starting to heal or maybe hadn’t quite yet, he pulls/strains/tears his pectoral muscle.

So essentially he hasn’t been able to show any of us an improved Gomez 2.0 I am going to give him the benefit, and from watching him closely sat. night, I saw hustle on pretty much every shift. He would of been my 3rd star actually.

I am a half full kind of guy as it relates to the Habs (don’t get me started on the rest of the world as I get really thirsty) so that is why I think the Headline Reads, “He is Trying”. For now I’ll take it, knowing full well however, that if healthy and he is isn’t producing, well drastic steps must then be taken.

Whether or not we’re happy about the Gomez situation doesn’t really matter. Send him to the AHL some will say. But what will that do for us now?
The team has lots of time to see if he can regain his old form before that move even makes sense.
If the team is rounding into a good position later in the year, and other teams on the outside looking in are wanting to unload some talent, like Wiz last year, and Gomez is still not getting it done, then make that move.
For now, sending him down would be insane. They need him. And not just because of his compete level. They need the depth. Otherwise they might have to bring him back up in a month and some other team will pick their pockets.
Gomez, unless PG does the impossible and finds an interested party for him, has to keep working on his game.
Fact is: if he gets totally healthy he will contribute.
It’s not really a terrible position to be in.
GO HABS…

Thanks Habfansince72 Being 30 plus years out of school and with that being said I wasn’t the best student I had to look up the meaning of “entendre
“. Who would have ever thought HIO could be educational.

I’ve had two 4-0 games in a row to watch live, so when the Bruins step on the ice tonight, they’re gonna get a whole lotta whoop asss.
Like to say hi to Andrew and Wendy, Ruth, Noah,, Gerald and Wendy, Matt and Mellisa (spelled wrong) and their very smilly 8 month of Violet.

And to all my other drinking buddies. The great Ian Cobb and his roomie Jim, my cola drinking friend Jim from Calgary, Fred, Jon (Believeau),Bob and Linda, Showey, JD, Todd, Andrew B, another Jim, and my good friend Jason M and the pretty ladies that served us all weekend. (sorry if I missed anyone)….OH PETEER!

Special thanks to Julie, Jill, Dana, Diane and Greg. They took me out to supper last night, and drove me back to the hotel. Great special people who I’lll always have a place for in my heart, and in my home.

I was at two charity dinners this weekend, and both were a huge success. Saturday was the great night one though. The prizes were just unbelievable, the game was unbelievable, and a got a couple good quotes in for JD. Which I don’t remember what there were?
OK time to get to the Bell and do the same drill I did for the Canes and Rags Game. (Kiss the lady at the front desk, steal the danishes, then run like crazy yelling Habs Win Habs Win, stipping my cloth off as I go……..

Gerald – The only question is who would replace BB at this point in time? Who would be on the list? Would that person be interim (in which case what are the chances that Ovechkin and Semin will listen to him) or would the replacement get a long-term deal? As well, would the mandate be to appease these two self-centred players or kick butt?

I have no idea as to a replacement, I just know that if this team continues to struggle and BB and Ovie aren’t on the same page, BB will be the fall guy not Ovie. I don’t think Ovie is afraid of hard work etc., but I have never felt BB was an intelligent coach.

Would be curious in two years time to hear what Hammer thinks of BB as a coach compared to JM?

I have to agree with ED. Ovechkin does not fit the self-centered bill in my opinion. This guy came in to a struggling franchise, ignited the fan base and made hockey in washington matter. He is an offensive machine. All of a sudden, instead of keeping high-octane offense and adding in some defensive responsibility, Boudreau has gone full defense. With the type of offensive talent washington boasts, I dont think it’s just ovechkin who’s grown weary of boudreau’s antics. I also don’t think the players appreciate the fact that boudreau likes to be part of the show.

Ovechkin is signed for life. Washington has to bring in a coach who is going to work with players like ovechkin, semin and green, not against them. It doesnt make sense that Ovechkin, Semin and Green are all going through offensive funks since washington decided to play defense first hockey midway through last year. It also hurts the pride of players like Ovechkin, Semin and Green when they don’t have free reign to produce the kind of offense they are used to producing. The idea was to make them a better playoff team, but that proved a failure after another early exit. The players bought in to Boudreau’s system, but after it failed to get them to the cup finals once again, it looks like they aren’t buying in anymore.

One person who cant be blamed here is George Mcphee. The guy addressed all the key personel issues he had. He acquired veteran defensemen to stabilize the back end, acquired toughness/depth up front, and a solid veteran goaltender. To me, this is all on Boudreau not being able to put it all together.

Enjoyed reading the Stubbs piece on Gomez. Bad Ankle to start the season then the muscle tear. Not easy to play through.

The guy I realize has burnt through his share of chances I realize that. However, reality is, he is a member of the Habs and isn’t going anywhere this year. SO, I am hoping he stays healthy and starts giving this team some quality minutes.

Tonight is a very big game, our young D will get tested much harder than the pushback from a Marion Gaborik/Brad Richards led team. If we can win against the Bruins with our current patchwork D, that bodes well.

I look for a big game tonight from Gomez, my optimistic flame got reignited in Montreal Saturday night. I really don’t care if he scores, he is a setup man and goals will be gravy. I just want positive production.

I don’t care what his salary or his cap hit is for the rest of this season, I only care that he gives maximimum effort and contributes.

Now I need to go get another BLack and Tan, oops, back at work can’t do that.

good perspective. if you recall two years ago we were hesitant to have Gomez, Camm, and Gionta on the same line because we didn’t want to load up one line. Its not the case anymore! Time to do it. That line clicked on Saturday and also was quite consistent in the last two years when together. Everyone needs to forget about the 7million, it was a gamble and risk that we lost but it happens to teams! If Gomez come back to 80% of the player he was in his prime we could be in a good position for the rest of his years on contract.

I disagree, when we break down as a team, it is usually because the other teams can find a weakness. Gomez has been a major source of weakness. Sure he contributed early in the playoffs, but as time wore on, his size was a liability. The small man has a lot of heart. Unfortunately we don’t have enough giants and Gauthier and the Molsons are on some type of kick to see if 6 foot tall 200 pounders can make it in the league. It is bad enough when some of the team is so small it is a liability as well. The other teams know they can exploit the small men on our team. Starting with Gomez.

Yah the point would be good, however, with this new fandangled OT format, a tie doesn’t feel like a well earned point if you end up losing in OT or shootout. Back in the day, if a team like ours with lots of callups and fillins got a tie with the *cough ahem, Stanley Cup Champs we would be happy.

So as a result, I find I need the win to satisfy. I miss the old ties, they were the right way to end certain games.

Was a pleasure to meet you Chuck, funny that we both had to drive from Burlington to Montreal to meet! Hopefully will catch a game at Ted’s with you in the near future. CHeers.

I was at the game saturday night, and what a game it was. Thorough domination from beginning to end of an extremely tough opponent. I thought the carolina game was great, but we victimized a team that was in a real funk. Not so for the Rangers, one of the hottest teams in the league going into saturday night, and the habs thoroughly demolished them.

I have to give gomez credit for that game on Saturday night as it was the best game I’ve seen him play since mid last season. Jacques Martin also had the boys ready to play. I’m not a fan of either of them, but I have to give credit where credit is due.

If Gomez can keep playing that way, at least he will be palatable. If we have an opportunity to acquire a big name player, gomez still needs to be dumped to the minors. If Gomez can’t sustain that level of play, well I still think he needs to go because he’s taking away from Eller right now, a player who I found was just getting better and better until gomez came back.

Big chance tonight to cool off another hot team. Hopefully the boys build off the momentum of saturday nights win and hand the bruins a brutal defeat.

Were not supposed to lay off and forgive everything at all, but at least have to give him credit for playing a good game. Truth of the matter is, if he could play like that every night, we are definitely a better team. Hopefully he built some confidence from that game, and is able to keep it up.

Steve! HH was nowhere to be found on the weekend. So your bet to him has been paid off all the same. We had a round of shooters at Hurley’s and a large cheers as we celebrated your pay back of your losing your bet to him, with your money you sent me to clear your dept. Hope that was cool for you both.

I PVR’d Saturday’s game (in case I couldn’t remember parts of it thanks to excessive Summiteering)…..
Did anyone else see that chump Cherry after the game? They were showing highlights from the different games, and they showed a clip of Subban and Price walking into the Bell Centre before the game joking…..Subban face washing Price after the game…..Doing the low Five……
And what does Don the Dinosaur say??? Not “Two fine Canadian lads! Gotta love it!”………..
He says to McLean, “Ya had to show this when I was on????????”

UNBELIEVABLE!!! Hopefully he will retire after this season, or TSN outbids CBC for the rights to Saturday hockey….

Much was made over the fact that the Bruins lost Recchi, Ryder and Kaberle from last year’s Cup winning team.

Seguin is a rising star in the game and easily replaces Ryder. A full season from Kelly and Peverley should help offset the experience of Recchi.

Carolina fell asleep at the wheel and gave Kaberle a long-term contract. They would now love to dump him after just 20 games. Corvo is a defensive disaster but that’s not why he’s on the team. Tie goes to the runner on this one.

The only real blip seems to be Pouliot, and his job could easily go to Caron before the year is out.

maybe now with our injuries, but get ak and white back and I believe we measure up! in addition to his their top line does not play well against us! we measure up against this team and quite frankly we let them off the hook last year! i hope that in inself does not become a mental issue along with the Chara hit on Pac!

I agree. I don’t think we would have won the cup last year, but I think we could have beaten the Bruins. There are some teams that you just match up well against and for some reason, despite how good the Bruins are, we seem to always give them fits.

White has to clear waivers which is a problem. However, I’m under the impression he could play in Hamilton on a two-week conditioning stint. AK46 is in his contract year so that pretty well guarantees that he will continue to give a decent effort. Markov on the PP ends the Pleks on the point band aid.

I’m trying a reverse jinx. When the Habs play one great game, I always expect the next one to be good. Last year that was not usually the case, especially when a win would have vaulted us over a couple of teams in the standings. Hope tonight does not follow that pattern.

The 5th Annual Montreal Canadiens We are Fans Summit organized by
Mr. Ian Cobb, who lives in Belleville, Ontario but who is also a life long Habs’
fan along with several other dedicated volunteers must be thanked for the great work they did before, during and after the Summit 2011 that was held on the weekend of November 18 and 19, 2011 in Montreal, Quebec. For many fans, this was their first Summit ever and they were not disappointed, as the Summit was a huge success according to some of the one hundred and thirty passionate hockey fans that attended the two day event. Many had travelled from near and far in North America during the day and evening of Friday. Many fans had traveling by car, others train and some fans had even booked flights to attend Friday evening’s gathering at Hurley’s to join up with other locals and visitors from out of town. To put a face to the various names of posters or long time readers on the very popular Hockey Inside Out web site, hosted by the Montreal Gazette’s newspaper with articles and blogs covering the Montreal Canadiens hockey franchise, while posting comments and opinions daily by many other Habs’ hockey fans around the world. One of the volunteers of the Summit, Mr. Shane Oliver had left Brandon, Manitoba, to come to town earlier in the week to take in a few Habs’ hockey games before the arrival of other attendees of the Summit and Shane had greeted everyone at Hurley’s on Friday night and handed out name tags for all in attendance. Other attendees were at the Hamilton Bull Dogs’ game at the Bell Center but would be joining the other fans after the game as everything was in walking distance, the hotel, the pubs, restaurants and the Bell Center. It was great, and kudos goes out to the organizer and volunteers who had worked out the logistics, for they had done their research!

On Saturday morning, a very young couple had arrived at Cora’s for the early bird breakfast, having braved the winter weather in Calgary, Alberta the night before, by having to sit though the de-icing of the wings , then several other travel delays before taking off from the Calgary Airport to arrive around 2:00 am in Montreal. And yet, the young couple was in great spirits the following morning while attending breakfast at Cora’s with other earlier risers and Habs fans that lived in or around the various boroughs of Montreal and those from afar. For those who attended the breakfast at Cora’s, they had the opportunity of meeting Mr. Kerry Goulet of Stop Concussions who was going to do a presentation in the afternoon about brain injuries caused by concussions and what folks at the grass roots’ level could do about slowly changing the “old school “ mentality of dealing with concussions suffered by young athletes in contact sports. Mr. Mike Boone, scribe of the Montreal Gazette was also in attendance for the morning breakfast. Fans old and young shared their thoughts, their heart warm memories, jokes and lots of statistical data on the Canadiens’ team over a hearty breakfast.

After the breakfast, it was a quick visit to the Montreal Canadiens Hockey Hall of Fame at the Bell Center with several other new comers meeting other fans for the first time as there still was more fans from the local area and from out of town meeting up for the very first time with the ever growing group of dedicated fans. Some had come down on the Saturday morning, from as far as just outside of the Toronto area, others driving up from Kingston, while some had a made a shorter trip from the Ottawa-Gatineau area. By now, there were also several great fans from outside of the country. A very dedicated mother and Habs fan now living in the United States had brought along her son, who plays hockey back home to his very first ever Summit and Montreal Canadiens hockey game at the Bell Center. Both mother and son were having a great time together, while visiting the Hall, as this was part of the gift package for her son’s sixteen birthday! The Hall was a great opportunity to see many amazing artifacts from the bygone days of hockey and the Habs’ franchise and to try out many “interactive” displays on hand.

Shortly after the Hall visit, many fans took the Bell Center tour with a very wonderful
young man and tour guide who was very knowledgeable. During the tour, the fans even got to sit down in the arena to watch a few minutes of the New York Rangers on the ice practicing for the evening’s game. Surely a scouting report would be sent back to HIO headquarters, as that was a golden opportunity not to be missed! The fans were also showed the Alumni lounge, where the great legendary Canadiens players like Mr. Jean Beliveau and Mr. Elmer Lach have been known to spent time reminiscing about the various eras of the good ol’fire-wagon days of hockey! The Summiteers also had a view of the Super suite…one of the corporate suites with all the intangible amenities one would need. Then there was a quick visit to get a bird’s eye view of the ice surface from the press gallery and a second look at the New York Rangers “system” while being suspended in the air and to finally figure out Boone’s point of view while blogging “live” on home game nights from so high up. From the Bell Center, the fans took a short walk
back to the Novotel hotel to see the presentation given by Mr. Kerry Goulet of Stop Concussions who gave an excellent power point presentation to the very interested
audience and media that was covering the event at the Summit which again was organized by Mr. Ian Cobb. Mr. Goulet spoke about brain injuries in athletes and said that it was more a question of “return to life” rather than return to play for many who have suffered concussions in pro sports and were left in the darkness. Mr. Goulet’s goal working along side Mr. Keith Primeau, a former Philadelphia Flyers Captain and a hockey veteran whose hockey career ended too so following yet another concussion was to education everyone, parents, coaches, trainers, and athletic therapists to recognized
a concussion in sports participants at any level, amateur or pro and to get proper medical attention for them, because brain injuries are invisible, we can’t see into the brain with the naked eye and athletes don’t always know they have suffered a concussion and they may even return to play too soon, without following proper protocol and suffer even more injury or long term effects. Mr. Goulet said it was time to change the old school mentality of sucking it up because our children and our children’s children need us today to be pro-active in this matter, by being aware and taking action starting at the grass root’s level and having our voices heard. By being aware, we could also work on the prevention of injury with proper skills to be taught to the athletes as most children
play many contact sports in different seasons; this also includes having respect for
one’s own body and brain and respect for the opposition‘s player competing also.
It’s a step in the right direction.

The pre-game dinner and raffle was held across the street from the Bell Center at the Baton Rouge restaurant. Many wonderful gifts were donated by all who attended, included a autographed hockey stick, brought over by Mr. Rejean Houle, who had suited up for the Montreal Canadiens and who had won five Stanley Cups with the team. Mr. Houle, who is clearly not retired from the world of hockey yet as he is now the President of the Canadiens Alumni and a member of the Montreal Children’s Foundation was very gracious with his time, signing autographs and taking pictures with the Summit fans.
Mr. Houle then chatted with a few of the fans and had said that the Habs would most
likely win the game in the evening, Mr. Houle was very confident and this pleased many of the fans before they left to attend the game. One lucky fan when they had arrived at the Bell Center, had actually found a puck in the stairways in the lower section of the reds with the double letters, no doubt from the Ranger’s practice of the morning, surely a good sign for the evening’s game? Then several fans had had the chance to sit down besides the Habs’ bench as the clocked ticked down before the players came out onto the ice to practice. At one point, Mathieu Darche who was not yet in uniform came out to sit on the bench as various television medias were setting up to interview the players during the practice. This was a moment of great excitement for many of the fans, to actually see a Montreal Canadiens player up close and then the digital cameras and cells phone cameras were clicking away. A few moments later Raphael Diez came out onto the bench, not in uniform either and did a few stretches on the bench. More cameras clicking, it was great!
One of the media personal from Hockey Night in Canada , Cassie Campbell-Pascall former Team Captain for Canada’s women’s ice hockey team who helped her team win a gold medal in both winter Olympics in the year 2002 and 2006, was now standing beside the bench, microphone in hand. Many fans recognized her and her accomplishments and called out her name. Cassie replied by smiling and waving to the fans, and the cameras in the stands kept on clicking. Over on the Rangers’ bench RDS’ Chantal Machabee was getting ready to do her interview and then the players came on the ice. It was great the see the smiles on all the fans faces, even the young children who were watching their favourite players on the ice in the warm up that ended too soon. It was now time to climb up, way up high, almost as high as Mike Boone’s chair in the press gallery to watch the Montreal Canadiens take on the New York Rangers and hockey’s number one pest Sean Avery.

Now the question was, would the curse of the Summit’s losing streak ( the record for the last four Summits’ was O-4-O ) be broken on the Eve of the 5th Summit? There had been
some positive signs (and even postings on HIO!)

1) Perhaps a scouting report had gone though to HIO’s web site from an Iphone via a Habs fan attending the Summit?
2) Had finding a puck on the stairs from the Ranger’s morning practice been yet another sign of a win for our Habs?
3) Was Mr. Houle’s predication about a win as good as gold?

Only time would tell but for now the lights were down low, for Eddy, Eddy who was smiling down on the boys from the big Jumbo screen at center ice. Edward “Eddy” Palchak, trainer and equipment manager for the Habs for thirty one years, winning ten Stanley Cups with the team and who sadly had passed away, was now receiving a moment of silence in the arena out of respect for all his hard work and dedication towards the team that he so loved. Many folks were very moved.

For one fan in the group, memories of a father taking a young child to see their first hockey game ever of the Montreal Canadiens at the old Forum and seeing Eddy behind the bench, the funny looking man with the big glasses and the big heart and smile, that fan now realized that another wonderful era of hockey was gone…God Bless you Eddy and as Gregory Charles finished singing O Canada, the passionate fans took their seats and enjoyed a truly great ending to a weekend of fun and entertaining activities, catching up with old acquaintance and making new friendships that had perhaps begun on line as the Montreal Canadiens beat the New York Rangers 4-0 in the sold out Bell Center in Montreal, Quebec. It’s what memories are made of- thank you again to Mr. Ian Cobb, organizer of the Summit and the many other wonderful volunteers who helped out during the weekend. Also a big thank you to all who attended and who brought wonderful gifts to be raffled off, your generosity will go along way in helping many others in need.

It´s a scary thought that one more concussion and Crosby´s health could be in serious danger. His concussion seems to have been far worse than most; no the run of the mill kind where you expect to have a few over the course of your career.
If I´m him I probably would not have continued, but as it is I hope he plays until his next concussion, hopefully at least two or three years more, but he is so young with so much time ahead of him that it will surely come. That is a scary thought.

The severity of Crosby’s injury is the fault of the Penguins organization (and I use the word in its loosest sense). Remember they left him on the ice after his concussion, and then played him in the next game where he got hit again. In 2010 there are still people who don’t get it.

“It’s fair to say this Boston team is a far cry from the one which the Habs made easy work of in a home-and-home sweep on Oct. 27-29.”

Make it stop!! I can’t take it anymore. The Bruins are never as big or as bad when they play the Habs. For some reason, the Habs find a way to get to Tubby (Thomas) and make a game out of it.

If the Bruins are not the same team as back in October, then the Habs aren’t either. One veteran ‘D’ in the whole lineup!! AK46 missing. Not really a reversal of fortune but nevertheless intriguing.

I expect the Habs to show up and perform right from the drop of the puck. There’s a lot of pride in that room and I would be shocked if they play like they did against the NYIs.

I hope Gomer is on the third line again and DD in centering Max and Cole. Eller looked a little lost the other night on the wing so I hope he has a better game. St. Denis had a great game compared to the NYIs game but then so did everyone else.

Can’t wait for the puck to drop.

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Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.

Gotta agree with you there. That’s why you actually have to play the games to allocate the points. The good thing is that with Shanny telling Ruff that it is NOT open season on goalies, right after giving Lucic a free pass, you have to think that Boston will have to be careful because if they run Price and Shanny looks the other way again, he will lose every little bit of the credibility he has left.

I have watched most of the Shanahan video clips and listen to his analysis. I’m not convinced that he has any credibility after some of the recent decisions. I thought he was on the right track in the preseason but he has really given into “the man” since then. He as much as said so at the last GM meeting. He said, “I’ll do what you tell me”. Well there isn’t a GM out there that want one on their ‘star’ players suspended for 15-20 games. They don’t sign them to sit them in the press box. I believe that the suspensions will continue to be handed out to goons and 4th liners and the others will get a pass just like Lucic did.
My hope is that if Horton or Lucic or any other Bruin is stupid enough to run Price, the whole team will kick the crap out of him and take what ever penalties come with that. I would not want them to run Thomas in return. I don’t believe in that, as much as I hate Thomas and his silly smile.

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Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.

I don’t care for Crosby much as a player or a person BUT now that the waiting game of will he play or won’t he play is over I hope that no more career threatening injuries befall him.

♪Your cares and troubles are gone. There’ll be no more from now on. From now on happy days are here again, the skies above are so clear again. So let’s sing a song of cheer again. Happy times, happy nights, happy days are here again♪

As a hockey fan I hope Crosby can avoid the next shot to the head (see Lindros). I think the league is at the crossroads here with reeling in some of the uneccessary violence. On one side you have the UFC or weak American markets enjoying and selling goon like hockey and on the other side a group of folks who enjoy the speed and skill of our game. I hope the speed and skill group wins out on this one. Maybe one way or the other Sid can save our game.